Corporate CFO Pleads Guilty to Campaign Finance Violations

The chief financial officer of a corporation has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit campaign fraud, as well as other charges, that could bring pressure on the company's founder, whose trial on similar charges starts on June 2.

Michael Giorgio , CFO of the SCI in Ohio, pleaded guilty on Monday to seven charges, including obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit campaign fraud, witness tampering, and making a false statement.

In his plea deal, Giorgio accused his boss Benjamin D. Suarez of personally directing a scheme to move $100,000 to the 2012 federal re-election campaign of Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Ohio, and $100,000 to the 2012 U.S. Senate campaign of candidate Josh Mandel, R-Ohio.

The scheme involved recruiting executives and managers at the firm to write $5,000 checks in their names to campaigns, and then SCI would reimburse them with company checks disguised as profit-sharing compensation.